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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Are Hoaxes In Book Publishing Commonplace?

In a recent New York Times
edition, a fairly large obituary was written for a man known to have
perpetrated a fraud on the American public. His name was Mike McGrady, a
prize-winning reporter for Newsday, a
New York newspaper. He helped get a book published called Naked Came the Stranger. He was a co-editor of the novel that was
written by 25 other reporters and editors at the newspaper. The only problem is
the book listed a woman as the author, providing a fake photo as well.

The 1969 novel spent 13 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. Eventually the real authors confessed
to writing the book.

Some
might say there’s a little bit of fiction in every book. Some intentionally lie, cover-up the truth,
distort facts or edit in a favorable way.
Others don’t double-check facts or question the facts. They use shaky sources or write unknowingly
out of bias. Few books, is fully
scrutinized would stand up to be 100% accurate.

Of
course there are well-known hoaxes but for each one that is discovered, how
many go unchecked? In the movie, The Hoax, Richard Gere plays a writer
who was published without anyone knowing that the story was fabricated. The book purported to feature interviews with
billionaire recluse Howard Hughes. It
was a fraud. True story. With the
recently published A Million Little
Pieces, author James Frye was praised by Oprah only to be exposed as having
fictionalized considerable portions of his “memoir.”

The
list goes on. I am sure there are books
right now that received rave reviews or hit best-seller lists that have at
least some suspect material in them, whether it was done intentionally or
not.

And
what of people who use pen names? It’s
an old practice that is used to protect an author’s identity but is it a lie
perpetrated upon the public that leaves unfair impressions?

If
we read a book thinking someone is a man but is really a woman, will that
change how we experience a book? If we
are told an author has certain credentials and then find out they don’t have
them, does this call into doubt what we read?
How about a novel like Primary
Colors, originally published by an anonymous author that was later found to
be NY columnist Joe Klein? Did it matter
that the novel was supposed to be a based-on-truth fictionalization of Bill
Clinton’s first political campaign for president?

I
had one author inquire recently about having us promote his book. He seemed
angered that I raised concern over him using a fake name for a book that he
really wasn't qualified to write in the first place.

Not
only do the major book publishers get fooled by hoaxers or those that review
and recommend their book, the public is getting duped now on a daily basis
due to the fact so many self-published authors disseminate information with
books that are not filtered by a professional editor.

I
guess the reader of any book has to always realize that what is published is at
best, one piece of a puzzle. It is one perspective of the truth, one piece of
potential evidence. No one book can serve as a grand jury on a topic and even
with a grand jury-like approach to a subject, the book is only as good as what
is known and understood at the time of its publication. As time goes by, new
information undoubtedly comes to light. History books constantly revise what happened
in the past. The past never changed but our awareness and understanding of it
has.

Every
book should come with a warning label that says: “The book you are to read may
not be the complete truth or 100 percent accurate. It only shows one person’s effort
at one point in time to conclude what the truth may be.”

That
disclaimer should probably go on every press release as well. And on every blog
post.

Interview
With Author Rachel Hunter

What type of books do you write? I write
Speculative Fiction novels, including fantasy, science fiction, and my new
favorite: steampunk. I adore how words can sweep readers off their feet
and carry them into other worlds. This is what I aspire to do through my
writing. I also share an infatuation with poetry, so when I write, it is
to a beat rhythmic beat in my head. Stringing words together is truly an
art form, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my creation with the
world, as well as enjoy the work of others.

What
is your latest or upcoming book about? My latest piece is a fantasy novel, titled, Empyreal Fate. It is published through Hydra Publications, and is available in
both print and ebook formats. Here is the book copy:

Filled
to the brim with forbidden love, an ancient evil, and a nation in disrepair, Empyreal Fate is a
tale of riveting bravery and mortal corruption.

The land of Llathala lingers on the brink of war between men and elves, a dark
history surrounding each race. Stirred by tensions of the land, a shadow of the
past reemerges, taking precedence in reality and consuming the very soul of
mans’ mortal weakness. Darrion, the son of a poor laborer, is ensnared in a
hostile world, forced to choose between loyalty to his king or the counsel of
the elves. Yet Fate has other plans in store, tying his course to Amarya, an
elven royalblood of mysterious quality and unsurpassable beauty. But this
forbidden connection incites betrayal from members of their own kin, marking
them as traitors to the crown. In a land torn asunder, only Fate’s decree can
allow such love to coexist with an ancient enmity.

Behold:
A Llathalan Annal: Empyreal
Fate – Part One.

My next project is a steampunk novel, featuring a blend
between science fiction and the fantastical. Stay tuned for future works and
other such shenanigans (also, feel free to visit any of my links below and
introduce yourself. I'm always fond of meeting new readers and authors):

What inspired you to write Empyreal Fate?My deep-seated love of
words and my fascination with the fantastical realm inspired me to begin
Part One of my Llathalan Annal series. I've always enjoyed how the
words on a page can capture the emotions of its characters and the vibrant
imagery of new lands, and I wanted to create such a scene for myself - to
bring to life new people and dangerous conquests, strange lands and
vicious creatures. I was inspired by works before me, as well as the majesty
of printed words.

What did you do before you became an
author?Well,
I've always been an avid reader and writer, and that aspect of my life
still hasn't changed - and, perhaps, never will. Though I am also a
psychology and nursing student at the University of Oklahoma, a yogini, a
biker, a swordsmith, and a jedi knight. (Okay, so many not the lightsabers
or swords... but in my head, I am whatever I wish to be).

How does it feel to be a published
author? Any advice for struggling writers?It’s a wonderful feeling
indeed; quite surreal. It is what I have been aspiring to accomplish since
I was but a little girl. And having accomplished it at the age of
nineteen, I am quite proud, to say the least. I say this to everyone - not
just writers - but as far as advice…. READ. Seriously. And write to your
heart’s content. It doesn’t have to make sense at all (in fact, the more
nonsensical, the better). But the Muse must come out somehow; it must be
beckoned and tamed, and then it must be heeded and groomed. But without
the “experience” of literature under one’s belt – from reading, writing,
and even research - the craft of writing will fall in shadow. At least – I
find that immersing myself in words helps spark the creative flair. It
gets the cogs turning, at the least.

Where do you see book publishing heading?I see publishing as ever-expanding. Print books
will (most likely) always exist, but the electronic medium will indeed
stretch farther. Unfortunately, as the popularity of e-readers and
e-devices increases, I foresee the decrease in the number of independent
booksellers. But, alas! One cannot see the future, and the future as we
know it is never certain. I suppose we will just have to wait and see –
and make the most of the now.

What type of books do you write? I am the Cuban-American
author of young adult novels in verse inspired by the island's history.
The Surrender Tree is about a nurse who hid in caves and jungles
during Cuba's three wars for independence from Spain, healing soldiers
from both sides with medicines she made from wild plants. The
Surrender Tree received many awards, including the first Newbery Honor
ever received by a Hispanic author. My other YA novels in verse
include The Poet Slave of Cuba, about a slave who wrote poetry while he
was still enslaved, Tropical Secrets, about Holocaust Refugees in Cuba,
The Firefly Letters, about a Swedish suffragette's exploration of Cuba,
and Hurricane Dancers, about Cuban Indians whose first contact with
outsiders was with a shipwrecked pirate.

What is your latest or upcoming book about? What inspired you
to write it? My most recent young adult novel in verse is The Wild Book,
inspired by stories my grandmother told me about her childhood. She
grew up in Cuba during the chaos following U.S. occupation of the island
after the Spanish-American War. She also suffered from dyslexia,
which at that time was known as 'word blindness.' She lived with the
illusion that there was actually something wrong with her eyes. I incorporated
the inner and outer turmoil of her youth, along with rural Cuban
traditions, including the essential role of poetry in the daily lives of
farm families.

What did you do before you became an author? I have always written
poetry, but I was also a botanist and agronomist.

How does it feel to be a published author? Any
advice for struggling writers? It feels like I
have received a precious gift. Nothing can ever be taken for
granted. Published authors, no matter how well established, have no guarantees
that the manuscripts we are now working on will ever be published.
Each book is an exploration, a quest, and a challenge. Struggling
writers should never give up. Summer Birds, my first picture book
for young children, was recently published after languishing in a desk
drawer for three decades. There is always hope. I would also advise
young writers to write passionately about themes that mean the most to
them, not what they think is marketable, because markets change quickly,
while writing is slow.

Where do you see book publishing heading? Since no one can
accurately predict the future, I would rather talk about where I would
love to see book publishing heading. I would love to see more
originality, more creativity, fewer formulaic stories, fewer predictable
sequels, and definitely, absolutely, always, more poetry. As the
world around us grows more callous and materialistic, we need poetry more
than ever before.

Interview
With Author Norman German

What type of
books do you write?I have published one prize-winning historical novel based on the
life of an ex-slave woman who became a slave owner, one baseball novel, one
murder mystery, and one pseudo-True Crime novel (a fictionalized version of the
life of Toni Jo Henry, the only woman executed in Louisiana’s electric chair).
Their titles are No Other World, Switch-Pitchers, Cripple
Bayou Two-Step, and A Savage Wisdom. Another, The
Liberation of Bonner Child, is no longer in print. It dramatizes the
reaction of a group of friends to an early case of AIDS, then called GRID
(gay-related immune deficiency).

How and when
did you know that your destiny was as a writer?I never felt
that writing was my destiny. I completed my Ph.D. in American literature in
1982 and had to “publish or perish,” as they say, so I published scholarship
for over 20 years (on writers as various as Hemingway, Hawthorne, Poe, Ralph
Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, Ray Carver, and James Dickey). During that time, I
also published short stories and novels, but now I write fiction exclusively.

What is your
latest or upcoming book about? Oddly, my latest book is a vocabulary book
based on interesting word origins (etymology).

What inspired
you to write it?I taught an etymology course for 15 years and became disappointed
in the textbooks because they lacked color, humor, and graphics. The
Word on Words was awarded “Best of 2011” in Arts & Letters
by Kirkus Review (see http://www.kirkusreviews.com/lists/indie-arts-letters/).
Because of that “Best of” award, a prestigious press in China (of all places!)
contacted me and purchased a 6-year copyright to the book. I received the check
last week, and literally the day before yesterday, I used the advance to pay
off some of my home mortgage.

How does it
feel to be a published author? Writing a quality book is hard work, but it is
occasionally very rewarding (though if young writers think they’re going to
make a million bucks, they should probably go into advertising). A few times, I
have met people in non-literary or non-academic settings, and as we talked
casually, they would suddenly say, “YOU’RE they guy that wrote [a certain novel
or story]?!” I’m from Louisiana, and once a professor from Massachusetts
told me that she had been teaching one of my short stories for over 20 years.
Others have recognized my name because it showed up repeatedly in their
students’ term papers, especially on Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”
and Ellison’s “Battle Royal” (the first chapter of Invisible Man).
Another gratification is occasionally having one of my high-school classmates
tell me that they would never have guessed that I (apparently a juvenile
delinquent in their eyes) would have made ANYTHING of myself, much less a
writer!

Any advice for
struggling writers?Learn how to write what Hemingway called “one true sentence.” It
is NOT easy. If you think you’re a great writer at 20, you’re not. Start from
scratch and do the hard work of learning the language, starting with words,
then building them into clear sentences. Think about your own psychology and
that of others. Explore what Yeats called “the foul rag and bone shop of the
heart.” Read about language, including GRAMMAR, every day. (For instance, there
is a difference between “everyday” and “every day”!) Study great short stories
and novels. At least once a month, read Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance
speech: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html

Where do you
see book publishing heading?It is by now a cliché to say that there has
been a world-changing “paradigm shift” in publishing. Digital books are the
future. Print books will never pass away completely, but digital formats allow
GOOD writers who have been rejected by the major presses to self-publish their
novels and test them on the almost-free open-market of capitalism—especially Amazon
and Barnes & Noble but other venues, as well. If a good novel sells
thousands of copies, those same publishers will go begging to those previously
rejected writers, offering them generous contracts to publish the novel they
rejected because they deemed it “too risky.”

Brian Feinblum’s views,
opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his
employer. You can follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person.

1 comment:

Thank you for hosting me today and for sharing the interviews with other authors. It is always interesting to discover the creative spirit of others in the publishing industry, and I enjoy making new introductions.

About Me

Brian Feinblum, the creator and author of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, is the chief marketing officer for the nation's largest book promotions firm, Media Connect (www.Media-Connect.com), formerly Planned Television Arts, and has been involved in book publicity and marketing since 1989. He has served several book publishing companies as a publicist, book editor, and acquisitions editor. Brian, who earned a BA in English from Brooklyn College, became a published author in 1995 when he penned The Florida Homeowner, Condo and Co-Op Handbook. He resides in Westchester, New York with his wife, two young children, and an English Bulldog.